Swiss man convicted for wanting to ‘die as martyr’

Swiss man convicted for wanting to ‘die as martyr’

A Swiss
court made history on Friday when it convicted a man for attempting to
travel to Syria to join Isis, the first time anyone has been prosecuted
in Switzerland for such an act.

The 26-year-old was given an 18 month suspended sentence by the federal
criminal court in Bellinzona after he was found guilty of violating a
Swiss law which bans terror groups Al Qaida and Islamic State (Isis).
The man, a Swiss-Lebanese, was arrested at Zurich’s Kloten airport in
April 2015 before getting on a flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
In its judgement
on Friday afternoon, the court said the man was intending to travel to
Istanbul “with a view to joining Isis and dying as a martyr”.
During the trial the prosecutor alleged that, after making contact with
a middleman on the Turkish-Syrian border, the accused “psychologically
supported” the terror group, reported news agencies.
The defendant denied the accusations, saying he had wanted to travel to
Syria to offer humanitarian help, and had no intention of killing.
But the prosecutor said an investigation of his internet search history
showed “intense research on Isis” over a period of several months and
nothing to prove he had an interest in humanitarian work.

The case sets a precedent, as it’s the first time someone has been prosecuted under the temporary law,
established in 2014, that prohibits any activities by Islamic State
within Switzerland and abroad, plus any activities that support or
promote Isis.
The 18 months suspended sentence is slightly less than the two years sought by the prosecutor.